Sunday, May 11, 2014

WARNING: The links contained within this post will take you to sites with content for mature readers only. However, this post is suitable for a PG audience.

First, Baby Doll and I would like to wish all the mothers out there Happy Mother’s Day.

This week, Baby Doll and I were proud to witness the striking of Arkansas’ ban on marriage equality.

On May 9th, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza gave his ruling inWright v. Arkansas, and included the following statement:

“It has been over forty years since Mildred Loving was given the right to marry the person of her choice. The hatred and fears have long since vanished and she and her husband lived full lives together; so it will be for the same-sex couples. It is time to let that beacon of freedom shine brighter on all our brothers and sisters. We will be stronger for it.”

Wright v. Arkansas was filed in 2013, and called for an end to the marriage ban and non-recognition of out-of state same sex marriages.

Since Judge Piazza’s ruling, Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has stated that he wants to appeal the high court ruling to the Arkansas Supreme Court for review. McDaniel has also asked Piazza to suspend his ruling, but such actions have not taken place. At the time of the attorney general’s request, 15 marriage licenses had been issued in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. While several other courthouses were open in the state on Saturday for early primary-election voting, the clerks’ offices stated that they were unprepared to issue marriage licenses. Because Judge Piazza did not issue a stay, the Association of Arkansas Counties is unsure how many of the 75 county clerks will issues marriage licenses on Monday.

Even though Baby Doll and I live in Arkansas, which is a conservative state, we were also happy that a step towards LGBTQ equality was put forth. We have always believed that love is love, and Judge Piazza’s ruling justifies that thought. Also, we hope this milestone in Arkansas history will not only impact the lives of others, but ours as well.

In the spring of 1992, Baby Doll and I knew that we wanted to be legally married. At the time, Arkansas did not accept same-sex marriages. Because I was assigned female at birth, all of my documentation listed me as female legally, even though I was, and still am, a transgender man. Twenty-two years ago, LGBTQ issues were not casually discussed in the deep South. Since both of us had circumstances where coming out was impossible at the time, we did what we felt in our hearts was the only option for us. Baby Doll and I married in a legal male-female union, but that was on paper only. In our private lives, we have always been gay men. Baby Doll and I have never had what is referred to as ‘straight sex.’ Our children were conceived through artificial insemination. While I gave birth to them, I did so through C-sections. Until September 2013, we lived in the public eyes as a straight couple out of fear for our children.

Before Baby Doll and I came out publicly, we sought legal counsel as to how such an admission would affect our life as a family. We weren’t so much worried about Baby Doll being gay, as the fact that he would now be publicly in a relationship with a transgender man. Also, our children would be in the home of two same-sex partners. I had already decided that if coming out would hurt them in any way, I would stay in the closet.

Several attorneys told us that they had researched and could find no United States precedence for nullifying a marriage, entered into on a legal basis, because one, or both partners, later professes that they are transgender individuals. In fact, they cited a case where a man and woman had married, and the man later became a transgender female. The judge in the case said that a legal marriage could not be retroactively nullified based on gender identity at the present time. Also, the attorneys that we consulted told us that any actions from state or federal agencies who might try and discredit our marriage, or to remove our children from the home, would be a gross acts of negligence on their parts. After which, they expected to hear from us immediately if such an incident arose.

Before coming out publicly as a transgender man, I had already experienced the mental and emotional aspects of transitioning. Now, since I am living openly I am in the process of changing my birth-assigned sex to match my internal sense of male gender identity. The first step in that was a hysterectomy in February, 2014. I believe everyone transitions in their own way, and at their own time. Gender and sexual orientation are not defined by surgeries and / or hormones, or the lack thereof.

I am also in the process of a legal name change to Andrew Jericho. Eventually, I want to change all of my documentation to the male sex. However, there are many legal aspects that will have to be researched and considered in that regard. Maybe Judge Piazza’s ruling with change not only marriage equality, but other legal issues that same-sex couples face as a result. Also, someday I hope to be able to obtain a marriage license with not only my new name, but as a same-sex couple. I still might pay to have one issued with my new name regardless.

Baby Doll asked me last night, if I was going to ask him to marry me again. I told him that I had already done that shortly after we came out. I think he just likes the romance.

The Life With Baby Doll series is a free weekly M/M romance read on this Website that shares my relationship with John Jericho.

To learn more about John and I visit: Life With Baby Doll. Due to the increasing popularity of the Life With Baby Doll series, I have created the permanent tab on my Website that contains information concerning our intense and passionate love affair as partners.

I enjoy hearing from all of my readers, and look forward to your e-mails. Remember Love is Love…Period.

Andrew Jericho is a ManLove erotic romance author for Siren-BookStrand Publishing and LGBTQ rights activist. All of his work can be found at: Andrew Jericho. For questions or comments please e-mail him at: authorandrewjericho@gmail.com.

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